General Manager of EP Petroecuador, Ítalo Cedeño: "We have recovered oil production by 99%"

This Petroecuador release was published using machine translation.

This morning the General Manager of EP Petroecuador, Ing. Ítalo Cedeño, attended an interview with Radio Centro Guayaquil, with Messrs. Juan Xavier Benedetti, Esteban Noboa and Mariasol Pons, on the newscast “Punto de Orden”.

The Manager explained that the start of the Eco Plus 89 and Super Premium 95 octane gasoline projects will be postponed to August 12 and October 12 of this year, respectively. This, he said, is due to the fact that both the public company and the marketers saw their schedules affected due to the national strike, which lasted 18 days.

Likewise, he reiterated that in the case of Eco Plus 89 gasoline, it is one more alternative that will be put on the market, but that both Extra and Ecopaís gasoline will continue to be sold nationally, with a value of USD 2.40 per gallon. , price that is frozen. "These fuels are not going to disappear, we must not misinform the public," he added.

Regarding oil production, he indicated that the goal of doubling production will continue, through the application of new technologies and the injection of more investment from the private sector. “This is a long-range plan, which is not subject to a government, we estimate that by December 31, 2026, production will be doubled. So far we have managed to break a trend of daily production decline, and by the end of 2022 we want to have at least an additional 80,000 barrels, which, added to the 20,000 barrels from private companies, will be 100,000 more barrels nationwide. It is not an option, it is an obligation, either we produce as much as possible or our oil will remain in the subsoil,” he said.

After the stoppage, EP Petroecuador has made an effort to urgently recover oil production. To date, 382,392 barrels of oil per day are recorded, with 35 wells that are still off, or in the process of workover , and a single paralyzed drilling tower. “Today we are at 99%. From now on we are going to increase production with the development of Ishpingo and other projects”, he indicated.

Mr. Ítalo Cedeño explained that of the 30 projects that were defined as priorities, four have already been completed. He reiterated that in the case of the Esmeraldas Refinery, modernization will continue through the construction of a high-conversion train, which will allow the waste currently produced by the plant to be transformed into clean products such as gasoline, diesel, LPG, among others. , in such a way that the country is almost self-sufficient in the provision of fuel.

The General Manager of EP Petroecuador regretted the impact on the image of the country, due to the strike, since it limited the interest of some investors, however, he clarified that work will continue on the planned plans. “There are trips, slanders in social networks, but when one has a clear conscience, there is no problem; that will not stop our goals.”